


Nicknames, Not Therapy

by allmycomfortcharactersaredead



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Animagus, Brief Kissing, Hogwarts Fifth Year, MWPP, Marauders, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Marauders Friendship (Harry Potter), Moony Wormtail Padfoot and Prongs, Sassy Remus Lupin, anything for our moony moment, some current references because I couldn't help myself
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-09
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 17:35:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29936988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allmycomfortcharactersaredead/pseuds/allmycomfortcharactersaredead
Summary: “Well, you know how we were thinking about trying something that might make your transformations easier?” Sirius started carefully, and Remus had to pry his eyes away from how bloody hot he looked all cautious like that (it was quite the rare sight, so really, he just had to savor it).“If this is about the magically enhanced muggle drugs again--”“No!” James interrupted, grinning from ear to ear. “No, Remus, we did it.”
Relationships: Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 3
Kudos: 33





	Nicknames, Not Therapy

“Remus,” James began, and already Remus knew this wasn’t going anywhere good. The three boys stood in front of his bed, and James’s posture was so straight he was probably breaking his back. “We’ve got something to tell you.”

“What now?” Remus sighed, noticing when the other three exchanged looks. “Out with it.” He closed his book, giving them his full attention, taking in their respective excited, sheepish, and anxious expressions (three guesses who’s who). “What did you do?”

“Well, you know how we were thinking about trying something that might make your transformations easier?” Sirius started carefully, and Remus had to pry his eyes away from how bloody hot he looked all cautious like that (it was quite the rare sight, so really, he just  _ had _ to savor it). 

“If this is about the magically enhanced muggle drugs again--”

“No!” James interrupted, grinning from ear to ear. “No, Remus, we did it.”

The three were smiling so enthusiastically Remus almost felt guilty asking, “What?”

“Here, we’ll show you,” Sirius said, and before Remus could question anything the boy in front of him was gone, a huge black dog in his place. Remus yelled out in surprise. 

“ _ No! You--you didn’t! _ ”

“Oh, but we did,” James grinned. “Show him, Pete.”

Remus’s heart was beating out of his chest as Peter smiled evilly and disappeared, and Remus peered over the edge of the bed, almost screaming again when he saw the fat little rat on the floor.

“Neat, huh?” asked Sirius, back in his human form again. He sprawled himself on Remus’s bed like he owned it (he practically did, by now), landing with his head oh-so-coincidentally in Remus’s lap. 

“What about James?” Remus’s voice was still shaky from shock, and Sirius’s smirk from his lap was not a good sign.

“James, maybe not in here--”

But James had already disappeared, and instead there was a majestic stag in the middle of the floor, complete with a monstrous set of antlers that swung back and forth excitedly before--“James, no!”--catching onto Remus’s bed curtains and ripping them apart.

Later that night, once the stag had been untangled and the curtains had been mended, Remus was still in mild shock. He curled further into his blankets, unable but attempting still to process.

What his friends had done was quite honestly astounding, an incredible bit of magic for fifth years. But beside that, what they wanted to do was so dangerous Remus didn’t even want to think about it. What if he hurt them? What if they got caught? Oh Merlin, what if--

There was a rustling of his curtains and Remus didn’t even need to look to know it was Sirius. He didn’t even turn around, just scooted closer to the other end of the bed to make room.

“Hey,” Sirius whispered, climbing in and casting a quick silencing spell. “I could practically hear you worrying from my bed.” Remus felt him climb under the covers, his boyfriend’s feet and legs tangling with his own, and he turned to face the boy next to him.

“It’s so dangerous,” he murmured into Sirius’s chest, and the other boy sighed.

“I know, but we’re going to take every precaution, I swear.” Sirius started rubbing slow circles on his back, and Remus let his head rest against the other boy’s chest. “You’re not going to hurt us, Remus.”

“You don’t know that.”

“No, I suppose I don’t.”

“Not helpful.”

Sirius chuckled, and they fell quiet, the soft breathing of the four boys being the only sounds in the room.

“I just…” Remus began, and paused. “I just can’t believe you all did this. For me.”

Sirius put a finger under Remus’s chin, moving his face so the two were eye to eye. “Of course we did,” he said simply, although his voice was just above a whisper. “Anything for you.”

And, because there really was no response to such a thing, Remus kissed him. He felt Sirius smile against his mouth as he did, moving himself upwards so that they were more level with each other. Sirius’s arms wrapped around his back, and his hands found the other boy’s face and neck and shoulders. It was still a shock, sometimes, to be able to do this. To have access to this boy, to those lips, to that face, whenever he pleased, and in his opinion, there was nothing else better in the world.

“You know what we need?” James asked the next day, his head lolling upside-down off the end of his four-poster. 

“Therapy?” Remus deadpanned, not even looking up from his book, and Sirius and Peter stifled their laughter.

“No, you git.” James gripped the floor with his palms and, in a not-so-expert move, flipped himself over in a somersault sort of motion until he was standing in the middle of the floor. “Nicknames,” he announced to the dormitory as a whole. “We need nicknames.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“Nicknames to go with our animals!” James explained, clearly very excited about this idea.

“Ooh, ok, I like this game.” Sirius looked to each of them carefully before pointing at Peter. “Wormtail,” he announced, and Remus and James burst out laughing. 

“Hey!” Peter cried. “It does not look like a worm!”

“Sorry, Pete, but it kinda does,” Remus informed him, not unkindly. “But really, please don’t make mine anything too obvious.” He looked to the other boys, the laughter gone, pleading now. Except it wasn’t full on pleading, because that wasn’t something Remus did. He just asked, very seriously.

“No, I was thinking we’d just go with Werewolf,” said Sirius sarcastically, ignoring the glare Remus sent at him. “Of course not, Remus.”

The four went quiet, deep in thought or brainstorm or just quiet, because really, it was hard sometimes for Remus to tell if there was actually anything going on in his best friends’ brains.

“Beastie,”Sirius suggested.

“No.”

“Monthly.”

“Really?”

“Moon.”

“Ehhh…”

“Moony!” James exclaimed.

“That’s...actually not bad,” Remus admitted, and James beamed.

“Moony. Mooonnnyyy. M-o-o-n-y.” Sirius sounded out, staring at Remus. “I like it.” Remus smiled.

James and Sirius turned to each other.

“Oh no,” Remus muttered.

“Rudolf,” said Sirius.

“Shaggy,” James countered.

“Prancer.”

“Toto.”

“Blitzen.”

“Slobber.”

“Dancer.”

“Bad Doggie.”

“Damn, I’m running out of reindeer. Overgrown llama.”

“What the bloody hell--” Remus interjected.

“Clifford the Big Black Dog.”

“Staggerific.”

“Mutt.”

“Fuck, wait what are your things called? Your prongy things?”

Peter--or Wormtail, rather--burst out laughing. “Do you mean  _ antlers _ , Sirius?”

The other three joined in with his laughter. “You know,” said James, “Prongs isn’t bad.”

“Ha!”

“Right then,  _ Prongs _ ,” said Remus. “What’s Sirius’s? Because I refuse to call him Slobber.” 

Sirius winked. Remus rolled his eyes.

James thought for a moment. “Paws. Pawfoot. Padfoot?”

Sirius stared, seemingly processing. “Padfoot,” he repeated. “Ok. I like it.”

Remus smiled. Moony, Wormatail, Padfoot and Prongs.


End file.
